Marcia Adams has always been fascinated with "attic receipts." You know, those vintage recipes scrawled on dog-eared scraps of paper stored in dusty trunks or wrapped in twine and stuck in the back of a drawer.
Years ago, cooking instructions were called "receipts." Recipe is merely an updated version of the same.And that's Adams' reason for writing her latest cookbook.
"In a country obsessed with anything new, these older recipes, out of print for years, were on their way to oblivion," she said. "I felt an obligation to do something about it."
And that something is "Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes: Yesterday's Favorites, Tomorrow's Treasures."
Adams, an award-winning food writer and PBS cooking personality, was one of the first food journalists to recognize the public's appetite for the indigenous, comforting foods of America's heartland.
Her first collection of Midwestern food traditions, "Cooking from Quilt Country: Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens," won her the prestigious International Association of Cooking Professionals' Best Regional Cookbook award.
She followed up, writing about Midwestern traditional cuisine in "Heartland: The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens" (1991), and "Christmas in the Heartland" (1992), both of which received critical acclaim.
As with her other cookbooks, "The Marcia Adams' Kitchen" series will be released as a PBS program in conjunction with her new "Heirloom Recipes."
Adams, traveling cross-country on a publicity tour, stopped off in Salt Lake City last week to sign her books.
A previous visit to Salt Lake City a year ago yielded two classic pioneer "receipts," which she included in her "Heirloom" cookbook - Mormon Corn Bread and Mormon Steamed Carrot Pudding.
She introduces each recipe with information gathered from her travels.
Over the course of four seasons, Adams and husband Dick searched "like recipe detectives" for old worn "receipt" books and the families of cooks who had prepared this home cookin.'
Adams said that "finding beloved but not-forgotten recipes was not too difficult; my best source has always been small town libraries, where librarians have thoughtfully preserved locally written cookbooks and generally know the town's best cooks."
Her observations of Utah?
"Even though Utah has become more urban and industrial, the conservative and stable Mormon influence remains. Many Mormon cooks bake traditional breads, including corn bread. This sturdy and firm version is sweetened with honey, a flavoring used often in Mormon cuisine. In fact, Brigham Young had a cupola shaped like a beehive built on top of his house as a symbol of the Mormon virtue of unremitting industry."
Adams' interest in American literature is an added bonus to this charming compilation.
Travel points of interest and historical background are noted throughout the pages in "Postcards from the Road," sidebars of fact and fancy regarding a particular region she visited.
Her trip to the Golden Spike Monument in Promontory, Utah, is noted on a postcard, mentioning how the historic linking of the East and West enabled Utah farmers to ship apples and pears eastward.
Another card, along with Adams' re-worked version of Emily Dickinson's gingerbread, describes her visit to the poet's Amherst, Mass., home.
"Poet Emily Dickinson was in charge of baking at her house, and her letters and poems make frequent references to this skill.
"The neighborhood children remember her making them individual gingerbreads, which she would lower out of the window in a basket with a cord attached to the handle."
A spoonful of sugar and a story to boot - that's the charm of Adams' cookbook.
Our reawakened interest to preserve and prepare long-lost "receipts" may just cause one of two reactions - a rush to purchase "Heirloom Recipes" or a mad dash to clean out the attic.
*****
Additional Information
MORMON STEAMED CARROT PUDDING
For pudding
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup currants
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Brown Sugar Sauce:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
Speck of salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon brandy extract (or vanilla)
To prepare pudding:
Fill a large kettle or steamer fitted with a rack with water and bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large mixer bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Transfer the batter to a well-greased 6-cup pudding mold. Remove the steamer basket and place the pudding on it, then lower it into the kettle. Steam the pudding over low heat for 11/2 hours, checking regularly to make sure the water does not boil dry. Remove the pudding mold from the steamer and allow it to stand for 10 minutes; loosen the edges with a knife and tip onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with Brown Sugar Sauce. Serves 6.
To prepare sauce:
In a saucepan, combine the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, mace and salt. Whisk in the water, then add the remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture boils and thickens, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve hot over pudding. Makes 2 cups.
NOTE: The original recipe called for ground suet, but the cookbook author updated the "receipt," as she did throughout this cookbook, with ingredients lower in fat.
- Each serving (with sauce) contains 412 calories, 14 g fat, 69 g carb, 420 mg sodium, 71 mg cholesterol.
- From Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes
MORMON CORN BREAD
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons corn oil
Butter
Sorghum or honey
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square pan and dust with a couple of handfuls of cornmeal; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In a small bowl, beat the egg and the remaining ingredients; blend. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Gently combine the two with a spoon, being careful not to overbeat. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top of the corn bread is firm and golden. Cut into squares and serve hot with butter and sorghum or honey. Serves 12.
- Each serving contains 432 calories, 7 g fat, 91 g carb, 255 mg sodium, 20 mg cholesterol.
- From Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes
LAYERED PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD WITH HOT CARAMEL SAUCE
For cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup cold butter
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light molasses
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To prepare cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (If using a glass dish, lower the heat to 325 degrees.)
In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter so the mixture resembles fine crumbs. (These first 2 steps can be done in a food processor.) Add the pecans and blend. Press 11/4 cups of the mixture firmly into an ungreased 9 X 9-inch pan; set aside. To the remaining crumbs, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well; pour evenly over the cookie base. Bake 40 minutes, or until crust is firm and a tester comes out clean.
To prepare sauce:
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add the half-and-half, return to a boil, and remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Serve the warm gingerbread, cut into squares, with the hot caramel sauce over the top. Serves 9.
- Each serving of cake with sauce contains 853 calories, 34 g fat, 134 g carb, 529 mg sodium, 99 mg cholesterol.
- From Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes
PICNIC PIE WITH CHEESE AND HAM
2 cups diced cooked ham
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 15-ounce container small curd cottage cheese, drained
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of red pepper sauce
1 recipe Perfect Pie Pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ham, cheeses, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, onion, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and hot red pepper sauce; stir until well-blended. Set aside. On a floured surface, roll two-thirds of the pastry out to an 1/8-inch thickness. Line a 9-inch springform pan with the pastry, pressing the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan; trim the reserve any overhanging pastry. Spoon in the cheese mixture and fold the pastry that extends above the filling toward the center of the pan. Roll the remaining chilled pastry to 1/8-inch thickness and place over the filling. Moisten the edges with water and seal the top with the bottom pastry. Brush the surface of the pie with the beaten egg yolk. Using any pastry scraps, decorate the top crust with small pastry cutouts and brush again with the yolk. Bake for 1 hour, cool to room temperature, then chill. To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan and cut into wedges. Serve at room temperature. Serves 6.
- Each serving (including crust) contains 621 calories, 38 g fat, 26 g carb, 2299 mg sodium, 246 mg cholesterol.
- From Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes
PERFECT PIE PASTRY
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups butter-flavored solid vegetable shortening
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
Combine the flour, sugar, salt and shortening in a large mixer bowl and blend until it has the texture of coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, beat together the egg, vinegar, and water. Drizzle over the flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Shape the dough into a patty, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for 45 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. To prepare the dough for pies, form it into a long roll, divide into fourths, and wrap each portion separately and refrigerate or freeze. One-fourth of this recipe is enough pastry for one 8-or 9-inch shell; one half of this recipe is enough for a shell and a top crust.
- From Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes
ASPARAGUS WITH PINE NUTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, mashed
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Asparagus (1 pound)
2 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
To prepare dressing, in a small jar with a tight lid, shake together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Pour into a small saucepan and set aside. Wash the asparagus and snap off the tough ends; place the spears in a vegetable steamer over boiling water and steam, covered, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and arrange on an oval serving dish; cover to keep warm. Over medium heat, bring the dressing to a boil. Immediately pour the hot dressing over the asparagus, then sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately or at room temperature. Serves 4.
NOTE: To toast pine nuts, place them in a heavy, dry skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, shaking often, just until fragrant and golden brown.
- Each serving contains 142, 13 g fat, 3 g carb, 82 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol.
- From Marcia Adams' Heirloom Recipes